| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
 China | 100,000 (2009) |
| Languages | |
| Khoshut dialect of Oirat Mongolian | |
| Religion | |
| Tibetan Buddhism and Shamanism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Oirats, Mongols, Mongols in China | |
| Upper Mongols | |
|---|---|
| Mongolian name | |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Дээд монгол |
| Mongolian script | ᠲᠡᠭᠡᠲᠦ ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯ |
| Köke Nuur / Qinghai Mongols | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 青海蒙古 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 青海蒙古 | ||||||
| Literal meaning | Blue lake Mongol | ||||||
| |||||||
| Mongolian name | |||||||
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Хөх нуурын Монгол | ||||||
| Mongolian script | ᠬᠥᠬᠡ ᠨᠠᠭᠤᠷ ᠤᠨ ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯ | ||||||
The Upper Mongols, also known as the Köke Nuur Mongols or Qinghai Mongols, are ethnic Mongol people of Oirat and Khalkha origin who settled around the Qinghai Lake in so-called Upper Mongolia (present-day Qinghai). As part of the Khoshut Khanate of Qaidam Basin and the Qinghai Lake, they played a major role in Sino–Mongol–Tibetan politics during the 17th and 18th centuries. The Upper Mongols adopted Tibetan dress and jewelry despite still living in the traditional Mongolian ger and writing in the script.